The Dodo Archive

On Being Compassionate

The one thing I've certainly learned in more than two decades of animal advocacy is that every person draws a different line at what constitutes compassion: the line at which his or her level of dedication to animals starts or stops.

There are some who would never think of attending a cruel circus where animals are forced to perform, but have no problem seeing animals behind the barred tombs of a zoo. There are some who would not ingest animal flesh, but have no problem walking the planet in shoes fashioned of animal skin. There are vegetarians and vegans. Conservationists and animal advocates. But as I told my own mother once, as she wrestled with "only" being vegetarian: "Everyone will draw their line in a different place. What's important is that we do something."

And so people do.

This morning, the Executive Assistant in Born Free Foundation's UK office, Mandy Ford, mentioned to me that over the weekend, she found herself racing the wrong way on a one-way street to take a fallen blackbird to a wildlife hospital. The traumatized, stressed and surely pained bird was in the road, lost, and Mandy swooped in where others passed by to save this one animal. Even if the bird didn't survive, at least she or he could be humanely euthanized.

Mandy did something.

Today, we have received a letter, not addressed to us, but to "Dear Monkeys," from someone who bought and sold primates as pets in the 1980s, and is now donating to Born Free USA to ensure that we can care for monkeys we have rescued from the primate trade. The author asks for forgiveness. I say "thank you."

He did something.

And so, that spirit is in all of us to just do something to make the world more compassionate. There are those of us who willingly work long hours, devoting our careers to the cause of animal protection. There are donors, volunteers, letter-writers, and supporters who all do their part: their something to make sure animals suffer less.

We have big fights on hand: saving lions from trophy hunters, elephants and rhinos from despicable poachers, cheetahs from pet traders, monkeys from biomedical research laboratories, orcas from watery cells, and on and on.... And, every day, it fills me with pride and strength and perseverance to know how many people out there, like Mandy, are doing something every day to help us win the fight.